Automotive Alert
Trump Trade Policy – Potential Vehicle Assembly
Exposure and Risk in North America
18 January 2017
© 2017 LMC Automotive Limited, All Rights Reserved.
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Executive Summary
• Manufacturing in Mexico, Canada, or outside the US in general, has come under threat from the
incoming Trump Administration. Since the campaign, Donald Trump has said that a border tax would be
in place for imported vehicles, although the tax has never been quantified. Furthermore, NAFTA could be
at risk.
• The US currently accounts for two thirds of North American vehicle production but significant investment
plans and decisions to re-source capacity from Asia and Europe to Mexico are expected to bring Mexican
production from 19% of NAFTA today to 26% in 2020.
• The potential for penalty on vehicles manufactured within NAFTA but outside the US may impact existing
vehicle sourcing and future NA production mix and vehicle decisions, many of which are already in
process. Until specific policy is detailed, the environment is fluid and uncertainty remains high, as the
industry plans for the future. Aversion to policy risk, and to the threat of negative publicity, has become a
significant consideration for planners.
• While sourcing changes to the US have been announced by several manufacturers, further production
shifts from Mexico, Canada or elsewhere, to the US are possible. We expect manufacturers to continue to
publically announce investment plans in the US even if they are not directly linked to the election.
• Ultimately, any sourcing change would bring disruption to the supply chain. Component manufacturers
have either heavily invested or planned large investments in Mexico based on sourcing requests and
decisions from the vehicle manufacturer that have announced new capacity.
• The key will be for OEMs and suppliers to have proactive plans that identify potential program risks,
identify capacity exposure, and develop contingencies to help reduce the impact of policy changes
going forward. The following alert helps identify which OEMs are at most risk for sourcing changes
given these potential challenges.
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US Light Vehicle Sales Environment – Plateau
2013
2013
2014
2014
2015
2015
2016
2016
2017
2017
2018
2018
2019
2019
2020
2020
US Sales (Millions)
15.57
16.49 17.45 17.54 17.56 17.59 17.51 17.51
US Imports Outside NAFTA
21.3%
20.3%
20.8%
21.5%
20.4%
20.6%
19.5%
18.9%
• US Light Vehicle demand flattens throughout our forecast horizon, creating a highly
competitive market that will likely out pressure on profit margins.
• The number of vehicles sourced within the North American region increases as OEMs localize
production capacity and more than 50% of the increase is currently expected to be in Mexico.
Source: LMC Automotive
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Millions
NA Production and Capacity Long-term Trend
Utilization %
• North America demand level adds stability layer through horizon.
• Localization and exports drive production expansion, with Mexico adding 1.3mn units. Even with
substantial investment, utilization holds in the 85% to 90% range.
• Production in US adds nearly 200k units and grows by 2%, while Canada contract.
Source: LMC Automotive
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NA Production by Country – OEM Breakdown
4,000k
Most manufacturers are expected to increase share of
Mexico production mix over the forecast horizon
3,500k
3,000k
2,500k
2,000k
1,500k
1,000k
500k
0k
2016 2020 2016 2020 2016 2020 2016 2020 2016 2020 2016 2020 2016 2020 2016 2020
FCA Ford GM Honda Hyundai Renault-Nissan Toyota VW
Mexico 438 460 387 757 717 866 255 244 109 380 837 895 140 352 433 729
Canada 577 435 272 184 519 318 414 425 0 0 0 0 600 463 0 0
USA 1,538 1,483 2,395 2,237 2,396 2,301 1,293 1,361 753 707 1,012 788 1,376 1,372 94 154
Source: LMC Automotive
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US Sourcing and Mexico Exposure
% Of US Sales Mexico Built
2020 2016
Volkswagen
Mazda
Renault-Nissan
GM
Ford
BMW
Hyundai
Toyota
FCA
Honda
Daimler
Tesla
Fuji Heavy
0% 20% 40% 60%
• Most OEMs are increasing their sourcing from
Mexico for vehicles sold in the US after
significant investment plans.
• Even with concessions and new US investment,
Ford’s presence grows with Focus shift to
Hermosillo from Michigan Assembly.
• GM mix shifts to Mexico with
Cruze/Equinox/Terrain output relocation.
• FCA declines with re-sourcing both inside and
outside NAFTA, but still over 10% Mexico mix.
• Toyota’s new San Luis Potosi plant is planned
to open in 2019, but could be under pressure
even after $10b investment announcement.
• VW increases on new Audi San Jose Chiapa
plant along with LWB Tiguan production in
Puebla.
• BMW’s mix from Mexico approaches 20% with
new San Luis Potosi plant to produce 3 Series
and derivatives.
Source: LMC Automotive
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US Sales Exposure by OEM Group
OEM
Imported Outside NAFTA US Sourced Mexico Sourced
2016 2020 2016 2020 2016 2020
Notes
Volkswagen 55% 43% 12% 17% 32% 40% Highly exposed both inside and outside NAFTA
Mazda 86% 75% 0% 0% 14% 25% Mazda3 at risk with sourcing mix change
Renault-
Nissan 24% 25% 54% 50% 22% 25% US mix declining, Mexico presence increases with COMPAS JV
GM 7% 6% 65% 66% 14% 19%
Imports outside NAFTA reduced, but popular model sourcing shifts to Mexico
a risk
Ford 2% 4% 79% 73% 12% 18%
Concessions made but mix of US sourced vehicles declining with Mexico
growing
BMW 72% 48% 28% 35% 0% 18%
US sourcing increasing with new X7, but new San Luis Potosi plant will get
exposure
Hyundai 52% 42% 48% 44% 1% 14%
New Monterrey plant for Kia Forte, Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio boosts
Mexico presence
Toyota 27% 21% 48% 49% 5% 12% Corolla and Tacoma shift to Mexico already exposed
FCA 7% 9% 54% 61% 18% 12% Could be okay given proactive announcements of plans already in place
Honda 0% 2% 68% 70% 11% 8% Some risk but can tout CR-V move from Mexico to US
Daimler 50% 49% 50% 46% 0% 5% COMPAS JV with Renault-Nissan adds Mexico presence, high import risk
Fuji Heavy 60% 34% 40% 66% 0% 0% Strong presence in US with further investment expected
Tesla 0% 0% 100% 100% 0% 0% All US sourced
Imported Outside NAFTA US Sourced Canada Sourced
OEM 2016 2020 2016 2020 2016 2020
GM 7% 6% 65% 66% 15% 9%
Ford 2% 4% 79% 73% 7% 5%
Toyota 27% 21% 48% 49% 20% 18%
Notes
Mix falling with Oshawa 2 closure, but Large Pickup shift with new Unifor
contract a risk
Limited exposure, but source popular Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX from
Oakville
Mix declining with Corolla shift to Mexico, but Toyota RAV4 and Lexus RX
remain
FCA 7% 9% 54% 61% 21% 18% No new capacity planned, but tariffs could impact popular Midsize Vans
Honda 0% 2% 68% 70% 21% 20% Alliston plants produce keys to their portfolio - Honda Civic and CR-V
Source: LMC Automotive
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North America Planned Capacity Investment
North American vehicle production capacity is expected to increase by 3 million
units through 2023, nearly 50% of that growth is currently planned in Mexico
18.8mn
22.0mn
2.3mn
2.4mn
3.7mn
5.5mn
Canada
Mexico
USA
12.6mn
14.2mn
2015 2023
2015 - 2023
Source: LMC Automotive
Δ 1000s Growth % Δ
Canada -100 -4%
Mexico 1,741 47%
USA 1,573 12%
Total Capacity 3,214 17%
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Other Considerations
• LMC’s baseline forecast for US Light Vehicle demand over the next few years is in the 17.5 – 17.6 million unit
range. Given a large number of variables and policy uncertainty there are forecast scenarios that support
both upside and downside volume expectations.
• Upside +300-500k – Trump’s fiscal stimulus package is more substantial, with US$1 trillion worth of personal income
and corporate tax cuts and a US$250 billion public infrastructure investment plan. In addition, a less protectionist
stance is taken.
• Downside -400-600k – Trump reverts to a highly protectionist and isolationist stance, fails to implement a significant
fiscal stimulus package and proceeds with immigration curbs and deportations that result in substantial labor force
declines. Against a backdrop of heightened uncertainty, the US and global economies are badly shaken.
• There have been several recent announcements of investment in US operations or the cancelations of
investment in Mexico by OEMs. This appears to be the direct result of pressure from Trump holding to his
campaign promise of penalizing companies for manufacturing outside the US. However, many of these
decisions were already planned or were altered due to other factors, such as lower demand for small
vehicles or shifting higher margin or complex vehicles to the US, and not solely the result of the pressure.
• Initially a spotlight has been directed towards the Detroit Three but that has expanded to include Toyota and
BMW, so all brands selling vehicles in the US sourced from other countries are likely to face similar attention.
While this might prove challenging, since the industry has been operating under NAFTA as a single market,
we do expect the auto sector to be able to adapt to policy changes providing apply to all industry players
equally. Note that increased trade barriers would likely cause an increase in costs which may ultimately be
passed onto the consumer.
• Without substantial investment to assembly plants in the US, it would be difficult to absorb more than an
additional 500k units of volume from Mexico or elsewhere. The creation of new capacity in the US would be
likely result in the closure of existing plants in Mexico, or running them severely underutilized. Either would
add cost, impacting profitability and have knock-on effects for the supply base.
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